PEORIA — Mike Smith may have passed away far too young at age 48, but his legacy will be one that lasts for many years, friends said.

The Canton native who served 16 years in the Illinois House died early Saturday of a heart attack.

During his tenure in the Legislature he worked on many bills, and is now being remembered for his efforts to help the region.

For proponents of the Chicago-to-Kansas City highway project — or even just a wider link between Peoria and Macomb — Smith will be remembered for his work “helping us get the first money for the 336 Coalition,” said Tony Rolando, a friend of Smith’s for the last quarter century and an official with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Though much of the legwork on the state’s $10 million loan to help keep Bartonville’s Keystone Steel & Wire operating was done by then-state Sen. George Shadid, D-Edwards, and Rep. David Leitch, R-Peoria, “Mike was definitely down in Springfield doing what he needed to do” to push the project through, Peoria County Democratic Party Chairman Billy Halstead said. That included advocating with House leaders.

Other colleagues credited him with work on legislation to help rural fire departments and on pushing to include funds in the 2009 capital construction bill for rebuilding East Peoria’s downtown into the new Levee District and for the Veterans Drive project in Pekin.

So how was he effective?

“Number one, he was just a very pleasant guy to work with,” state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, said. “He was always very thoughtful, never had any outbursts — things that usually go on in Springfield. He was very calm, very even-keeled.”

U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, said Smith was one of the friendliest people he served with during his time representing the neighboring 92nd District at the state Capitol beginning in 2005.

“Mike always had a smile on his face,” Schock said.

He learned the ropes on the way up, too, from his time chairing the Fulton County Democratic Party and working as a legislative aide to his House predecessor, Rep. Tom Homer, giving him some familiarity with issues.

But then he liked to dig in and learn more.

“He was one of the smartest people I met. … He could remember anything. He could put together people and events and make sense of it,” Rolando said.

Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, represented a neighboring district and said that even if the two of them might come down on different sides of some issues, Smith was the one to go to for perspective.

“If you had an issue that came up and you wanted background, Mike Smith was someone you could go to to get the background,” he said.

Page 2 of 2 - Partisan politics didn’t always matter to him as much as getting things done, either.

Marty Green, a Republican to Smith’s Democrat and a friend since they served together on the student council at Canton High School, recalled that Smith often took a broader view of issues and developed friends on both sides of the aisle.

“He was always very open-minded,” he said. “His votes in the General Assembly were never a clear-cut Democratic party line. He was very open-minded, and he was willing to make the decisions based on what was best for the state or what was best for the district.”

Of course, there was also some political reality to his effectiveness.

“His connection with (House) Speaker (Michael) Madigan was very helpful, because a lot of the time that was what it took to get projects done or to get legislation passed,” Koehler said.

Smith also put a premium on being decent, once playing a bit of a prank on a legislator who had, Smith believed, crossed the line.

“I don’t think a lot of people know the ornery side of Mike,” Green said with a chuckle. “I’ll never forget, there was a legislator went on the floor in the Senate and made a personal attack against a House member. Mike called the legislator’s voicemail and left an anonymous message about how tacky that was.”

Funeral arrangements are still pending through Oaks-Hines Funeral Home in Canton, and are expected to be finalized on Monday.

Chris Kaergard can be reached at ckaergard@pjstar.com or 686-3135. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisKaergard.